In his speech, Mr Haldane explored the origins of the public company, identified the potential incentive problems among stakeholders and considered how policy actions could mitigate those problems. He concluded:

Challenges to the shareholder-centric company model are rising, both from within and outside the corporate sector. These criticisms have deep micro-economic roots and thick macro-economic branches. Some incremental change is occurring to trim these branches. But it may be time for a more fundamental re-rooting of company law if we are to tackle these problems at source. The stakes - for companies, the economy and wider society - could scarcely be higher".

Whilst the ideas and criticisms that Mr Haldane identified are not new, it is noteworthy that he should choose to highlight them (making clear that he was not necessarily expressing the views of the Bank or the Monetary Policy Committee). One thing that is missing from his speech, in which he traced the rising dominance of shareholder primacy and briefly considered section 172 of the Companies Act 2006, is the influence of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers in reinforcing the position of shareholders.

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At Aston I teach courses in company law, corporate governance, securities law, financial regulation and taxation. This site primarily supports my company (corporate) law and governance teaching and to a lesser extent the other subjects I teach. It is primarily an online notepad where I record important developments, news and other items that interest me. It is also a portal providing quick access to the main corporate law and governance primary materials, news sources and relevant organisations (scroll down to see the links).

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